Wind of Twilight
by NeoVenus22
Summary: Things are peaceful in Crystal Tokyo, until the princess goes missing and a renegade army begins to rise up.
1. The Rising

This is a little something I was working on awhile ago, and only recently found. So I can't honestly say if it's any good or not. That's up to you guys. Please R/R!  
  
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, never have, never will. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi, and I'm only borrowing them a bit.  
  
Set in Crystal Tokyo.  
  
***  
  
Standing on the expansive balcony just outside the palace ballroom, a woman stood, observing the two lovers on a romantic, moonlit walk in the gardens.  
  
"Ahh, Selenity," the woman breathed, watching the queen's golden hair flash in the silvery moonbeams, creating a magical effect that clearly had her partner entranced. "So gorgeous. So graceful. So perfect. So...evil." A harsh laugh escaped her throat, bitter by the years and almost delirious from her growing insanity. "You can't fool me with your pretty ways and your innocent eyes." She knew there was evil buried within that perfect, flawless body. Evil lurking within the cerulean depths of those caring, understanding eyes. "The White Moon only brings disaster, Serenity. I'm the only one who hasn't fallen under your spell. And because of that, I'm the only one who can destroy you."  
  
Another woman came to the balcony, and tapped her comrade on the shoulder. She turned and studied the woman briefly. Quite beautiful. Older, perhaps, but more foolish. It had taken a lot of convincing to get her to join the side of the Revolution. A lot of convincing, indeed. "Mistress," the woman said, "May I?"  
  
She nodded at her soldier. "Number One. What is it?"  
  
Number One dropped to one and lowered her head respectively. A lock of jade hair fell in front of her face, shrouding it in shadow. "Mistress, the troops are ready for the attack. All systems are go."  
  
"You may rise, Number One. Don't feel it necessary to bow down to me. I think of you as a comrade." Number one got to her feet, and her scarlet eyes flashed briefly in a moonbeam before once again growing dark. Dark and submissive.  
  
"Mistress...if you don't mind...I would prefer not to fight." Perhaps not as submissive as she had originally thought.  
  
"Nani?" she screeched. "You abandon the Revolution so readily? You support the evil the White Moon brings? I thought better of you, Number One. I admit, it took some work to break you free of Selenity's spell, but you're one of us now. No longer weak. No longer dependant. No longer a prisoner."  
  
"Mistress..." Number One said slowly, "You know that isn't true. I support the cause of the Revolution. I want freedom from the oppression the White Moon brings. But it's really a conflict of interest, if you will. My loyalties lie with you, Mistress, you can be assured. But my duties lie with Selenity. I cannot control that, no more than you can control your own upbringing."  
  
A look of pain passed over the Mistress's face, but vanished as mysteriously as it arrived. Her voice grew soft, almost sympathetic. "I understand. Truly I do. But remember, Number One. It was Selenity who stole your freedom. I fought hard to break myself of her chains, and I did. I want to help you achieve the same blessed freedom I've worked so hard for. You're an old, dear friend. And I want you to see the light as I have, Setsuna."  
  
"Mistress, why do you want to destroy the White Moon? The king, the queen, the senshi..." Number One's eyes grew wet with unshed tears, "the princess?"  
  
The Mistress's tone grew cold and callous once more, and she spat out her words with a vengence. "The princess is dead, Number One. And better off so. The world doesn't need another Selenity to add to its troubles. Another child of the White Moon, sent to corrupt the people, that is what the princess was. Was," she embellished. "Not anymore."  
  
She turned back towards the moonlit garden, as if seeing Number One, Setsuna, was a grim reminder of the pain she had to endure to get where she was. "Now we need to prepare for the battle. It is the final step. This is the war that will bring about the Revolution, Number One. We will be free." 


	2. The Discovery

Second chapter. Please R/R, although it's worthless to beg.  
  
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, never have, never will. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi, and I'm only borrowing them a bit.  
  
***  
  
Her breath coming in short, quick gasps, Minako ran from the heavy velvet curtains and stumbled through the empty ballroom, worry and fear causing her to step erratically. She pushed her way past milling servents to the tall, double doors of the throne room where she could only pray Selenity sat. "Your majesty!" Minako yelled, pushing open the doors in a hurry. She realized a nanosecond too late that she might be interrupting something important, but decided that she didn't care. "Your majesty!"  
  
It didn't matter much anyway, the room was empty. "Shimatta!" Minako cried, trying to quell her rising panic. She knew she had to find the queen--and fast. She had overheard something she knew she shouldn't have. Two women discussing the overthrow of the White Moon. A revolution. The heavy drapes just outside of the balcony had muffled some of the words, but had Minako heard the name Setsuna? And something about the princess's death?  
  
She tore frantically down the hallway, her common sense completely abandoning her and leaving her at the mercy of the panic. It just barely registered in her brain when she slammed into a body.  
  
"Gomen," she said hurriedly, tucking a stray lock of blond hair behind her ear and looking up. Makoto's familiar green eyes were looking at her with concern.  
  
"Mina-chan? What could it be that has you tearing around the castle as if the hell hounds are at your feet?" Makoto asked, slinging an arm around her blond friend's shoulders.  
  
"Mako-chan..." she choked out, "I heard something...not good...there's a group of...terrorists or something, they want to kill Selenity..." Finally her instincts caught up to her and she burst into tears, sobs racking her body. Makoto held her tight and led her to a padded bench.  
  
"Sit down, Mina-chan, and tell me exactly what you heard," Makoto said soothingly, stroking Minako's hair.  
  
"I was in the ballroom," Minako explained, "and I heard two women on the balcony, talking. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, Mako-chan, honest. I thought it was good gossip. But it was about a group of some sort, one that wanted to take over Crystal Tokyo and kill Selenity. The woman in charge --she called the other woman 'Number One'-- said that the White Moon brought oppression and should be destroyed. And I swear that she called Number One Setsuna."  
  
Was it her imagination, or did Makoto stiffen? "Setsuna, you said? As in, Guardian of Time Setsuna? Sailorpluto Setsuna?"  
  
"Kami-sama, Makoto," Minako said irritably. "Do you know any other Setsunas?"  
  
"Good point." Makoto's body shuddered in a deep sigh. "Oh, this isn't good. Not good at all. Have you told Selenity?"  
  
"I couldn't find her." Minako swallowed and sat up. She was beginning to think rationally once more. "We need to tell the senshi."  
  
"Do you really think it's a good idea?" Makoto countered.  
  
Minako's spine straightened. "What do you mean?"  
  
"What if the other senshi are in league with this woman? Letting them know that we know is dangerous."  
  
"I guess you're right. I mean, Setsuna's already working for her, why not the others?" It killed her to say it. Ami, Rei, Haruka, Michiru? Her loyal, dependable friends, in league with a woman who wanted to kill their queen? And what of little Hotaru? Just a toddler now, as was her nature, but if she grew old enough, if she grew impressionable enough...she was Death itself. She could bring a revolution, all right...a death reborn revolution, in one fell swoop. Horrifying.  
  
Then a more horrifying thought occurred to her. What if Makoto was one of the conspirators? One of them? Maybe Minako was next on the list. Maybe even as they spoke, Makoto was planning to kill her.  
  
"Yes, why not the others?" Minako said, slowly getting to her feet. Suspicion overwhelmed her brain, and she glared at Makoto with fearful eyes. "Why not the others, Makoto? Why not you?"  
  
"You must be joking," Makoto said, her tone calm yet disbelieving. She rose to Minako's side, towering over the other woman. It was just Makoto's natural height, but her indignance of the accusations, coupled with Minako's frantic paranoia, made it seem almost menacing. "You can't honestly believe that I'm in a conspiracy against Selenity."  
  
"I don't know what to believe," Minako wailed, tears flooding her eyes. "They're going to kill Selenity. And they're going to kill me because I know." She turned tail and ran frantically through the halls of the castle. 


	3. The Conversation

Please R/R.  
  
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, never have, never will. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi, and I'm only borrowing them a bit.  
  
***  
  
"I don't know what to believe," Minako wailed, tears flooding her eyes. "They're going to kill Selenity. And they're going to kill me because I know." She turned tail and ran frantically through the halls of the castle.  
  
"Mina-chan, hello! Where are you off to at such a breakneck speed?" a familiar voice called.  
  
"Rei-chan," Minako gasped, stopping short of rushing into Rei. "Gomen. I didn't see you. Seems I've been running into too many people tonight."  
  
"What do you mean?" Rei asked, placing a consoling hand on Minako's shoulder. "Sit with me, Mina-chan, and we'll talk. It's been too long. I feel so torn apart from all of the senshi since..." Rei closed her eyes for a second to compose herself, "Since...she disappeared. Too trapped in my grief."  
  
"Gomen nasai, Rei-chan," Minako said, the tables having turned. It was now she comforting her companion. "We all miss her. And I understand you miss her a lot."  
  
"She reminded me of Usagi-chan when we first met. Off-the-wall, a ball of fire. Carefree. I couldn't have the same relationship with Selenity anymore. I still can't. We've grown apart since she became queen. Duties and Endymion. It takes up much of her time. More now since the accident. And with Chibi-Usa-chan, it was almost like I had a little sister. Just like Usagi-chan seemed like my sister back then. And then..."  
  
"And then she was gone," Minako finished. "I know what you mean, Rei-chan. It's like there's this empty space now. She was bratty and annoying and a pain, but God, I loved to be around her. You know?"  
  
"All too well," Rei agreed with a watery smile.  
  
"It's all right, Rei. Wherever she is, I'm sure she's fine." Minako sounded confident, but she remembered the shadowed figures with the prophecy of Chibi-Usa's death, and her lie to Rei hurt horribly.  
  
And yet, she just couldn't bring herself to trust Rei completely. They'd known each other for years, through multiple reincarnations, several different eras, and outside of Serenity, Rei was her closest friend. But Minako just couldn't trust her implicitly. Yes, Rei had sworn loyalty to the White Moon. They all had. These days bonds didn't seem to matter much anymore.  
  
"I should go," Minako said abruptly, and stood up. Rei blinked at her, confused, but out of the corner of her eye Minako saw Makoto approaching from the far end of the hall, and Minako felt safer in one-on-one situations. "I'll, uh, see you later, Rei-chan. Ja!" With an almost frantic wave, Minako walked as fast as she could without actually running down the hall and around a corner, where she ducked into an empty room, turned off the lights, and hid behind a large bookcase.  
  
Minako sank to the floor, drew her knees to her chest, and shook slightly, choking back tears. None of this was fair. None of this made sense. The very idea that her closest friends in the world might actually be against her was more that she could bear.  
  
"Where'd she go?"  
  
Minako looked up, wiping her eyes free of loose tears and sinking further into the shadows. The voices were coming from the hall. It sounded like Rei and Makoto.  
  
"I think she went back to her room."  
  
"What was she babbling about? Conspiracies and all that. Did she get hit in the head recently?" the second voice inquired.  
  
"Minako is a lot of things, but she isn't crazy," the first voice insisted.  
  
The second voice sighed deeply. "Everyone will just have to come to terms with the fact that the princess is dead."  
  
Minako sucked in air, and clamped her hand over her mouth. Even though the owners of the voices were in the hall, she was still terrified she'd be discovered. She pressed closer into her corner, straining to hear.  
  
"Don't say that, Matoko! Don't say that! She...she can't be dead! She can't!"  
  
"Chibi-Usa is dead. The Tsukino legacy is on its last leg."  
  
"She's a *senshi*, goddammit. You can't kill a senshi that easily."  
  
"You can if you want to badly enough. You can do anything in the world if you want it badly enough." When Makoto spoke again, Minako could hear the smirk in her voice. "She fought until the end, Rei-chan. Valiently. She was on a quest for freedom."  
  
In the hallway and in the room, simultaneously, Minako and Rei started to cry. Neither of them knew the other was crying, as both sobbed silently. Rei did not want to be seen as weak, and Minako didn't want to be seen, period.  
  
"You and Minako are on the losing side, Rei-chan. See how you cry now? The White Moon brings nothing but pain and suffering. That teardrop is the only part of you that is truly free. Don't wait much longer, Rei."  
  
Minako heard Makoto's footsteps retreating down the corridor. She heard Rei's muttered curse.  
  
She cried. 


	4. The Army

Please R/R.  
  
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, never have, never will. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi, and I'm only borrowing them a bit.  
  
***  
  
That night, the leader of the revolution paced in front of her comrades. She held attention, her followers were rapt the way they once were with Selenity. She reveled in this change. "There is one more among us tonight," she intoned. "Another set of eyes has been opened, another heart desires more. Another mind is awakened to the truth."  
  
She paused, surveying her small but powerful army. "The power of fire is on our side tonight, the flame of hatred shall light beneath our army, and we shall be unstoppable. The White Moon kingdom will be brought to justice. And from the ashes a new kingdom will emerge, one of freedom. One free of fear, one free of oppression. Who is with me?"  
  
A rousing cheer hit the air. The new recruit gazed uncertainly at her fellows, fear plain in her eyes.  
  
"Do not be afraid, my dear," the leader said in a voice that would have seemed kind, had her followers not known her true, ruthless nature. "You are allowed to be afraid and confused at first. All of my agents were in the past, and look how loyally they follow my regime now. Look how they dedicate their lives, their very souls to my cause. To the disruption of the White Moon kingdom. Be afraid now, fire child, be cautious, feel regret if you so choose, but do so knowing that while your heart may pang, your head is truly the stronger and more noble organ, the one whose orders dictate you. Hear me now, my people!" she called loudly to the crowd. "Notions of love are ludicrous fantasies, woven by your true enemy, the White Queen Selenity! Do not be fooled by her hearty notions, but understand that they shall be her downfall! The people she so foolhardly places trust in, they shall be her enemy! Her world comes to an end tonight!"  
  
She was greeted by yet another cheer, more raucous than the first.  
  
The new recruit, standing to the leader's left, as Number One held her usual position as right-hand man, turned to her new commander with eyes that were dead. "Prin--that is, Mistress," she amended, looking sheepish, sorrowful, and fearful, "she knows. Sailorvenus. She's overheard a conversation between yourself and Number One, and she knows. She knows too much."  
  
"I am aware; Makoto has already informed me of such actions against us," the leader said, looking nothing if not unconcerned. "Fear not. One girl is hardly an army."  
  
"But Mistress..." the new recruit hedged, "didn't this army here start from humble beginnings? From a young girl, seeing the light?"  
  
"Your point is?" the leader said coldly.  
  
"I don't think we should eliminate Sailorvenus as a non-threat. At least, not just yet."  
  
"Number One! Do you hear these things?"  
  
"Yes, Mistress," Number One said reverently, bowing her head in respect.  
  
"And what say you?"  
  
"Mistress, I...I do believe our newest recruit has a point," she said. "Venus is too far into the White Kingdom, too full of love for Selenity to be swayed easily, if at all. On the other hand, I don't think she has substantial power to rise an army against us."  
  
"What do you propose then, Number One?"  
  
Number One glanced between the two women before her. Leave Venus go, and there was the chance that she could be a weapon against them. Kill her with the rest...but Venus was once a friend. Was still a friend, even now.  
  
She grew aware of the Mistress's patient stare. She had been earnest when she'd declined from battle. Her duties did lie with Selenity and the White Moon. And while her loyalties truly lay with the revolution, she couldn't easily or with good conscience fight against the people she'd once fought with.  
  
"I think we should..."  
  
***  
  
Selenity was alone in her quarters when Minako entered without knocking. The Queen of the Moon Kingdom glanced at the mirror which she'd been sitting before, brushing her hair, and her eyes focused from her own reflection to that of her intruder. She turned to look fully at Venus.  
  
"Minako? Isn't it a bit late for you to be wandering the halls, going into people's chambers without sufficient warning?" she said. Whether it was an admonishment or not, Minako couldn't tell. After Chibi-Usa had gone missing, presumed to be dead, something in the queen had died. Her old persona, the Usagi that everyone knew and loved, had been banished from her soul, leaving only the queen. It wasn't that the regal, noble woman was unloving or unlovable, merely that she seemed so distant, so unconcerned with anything but policies. Minako and each of the senshi, or so she had previously thought, longed to put some spark back into her old friend, but it seemed impossible to do, especially with the truth she was about to deliver.  
  
"I have some bad news, your majesty, that couldn't wait for another time." Unable to stop herself, Minako started to cry slightly, just filled with remorse.  
  
For the briefest flash of a second, though no longer, there was a bit of life behind the cool blue eyes. "What is it, Minako?"  
  
"I...I heard word that there is some sort of revolution going on. There may be an attack against the kingdom, against *you*, tonight. I don't know who they are. But they...they killed her. The princess."  
  
"Is this true?"  
  
"I believe so," Minako said, wiping at her wet cheeks with the back of her hand, then assuming the most commanding posture that she could, trying to convey strength and her loyalty to Selenity.  
  
The queen slumped into her chair, looking older and more tired than Minako had ever seen her, or had ever wished to. "I see."  
  
There was the longest silence. "What should I do, your majesty?"  
  
"I don't know," the queen said carelessly. "Assemble the troops."  
  
"There's a problem with that..." Minako hedged, biting her lip. "Several of the senshi have joined the revolution. Setsuna, Makoto...maybe others. I don't know."  
  
"I see." She said nothing else.  
  
And Minako realized in that moment that she was without a leader. 


End file.
